


Equilateral

by FestiveFerret



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, Pining, Sex, Tony's Metal Arm Kink, Unrequited Love, secret feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-19 10:31:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11311536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FestiveFerret/pseuds/FestiveFerret
Summary: It was the way Steve had said, “I found him,” the desperate, agonized hope, that had Tony replying with,  “Bring him home,” without any hesitation.But now, now he was hesitating like fuck.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as always to ashes0909, my beta and partner in crime.

James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes. Tony was not sure about this. He pulled the large, white dropcloth off the couch and coughed as it threw a cloud of dust up in the air. He really should have had cleaners come in to do the empty apartments. None of the Avengers liked outsiders in their home, though. He could respect that.

He heard Clint and Natasha start bickering about cleaning sprays or some shit in the bathroom so he pulled headphones out of his pocket and plugged them into his phone. The music shrunk the world to just him, the furniture he was disrobing, and his own thoughts - only slightly less aggravating than World War Windex.

Steve had talked about his old friend Bucky almost incessantly from the day he had moved into the tower. There had been sightings, he knew he was alive. Steve made a plan: he was going to find him and bring him home. He hadn’t asked for help, though Tony was pretty sure Nat had gone with him more than once to search. And one day, after being radio silent for two weeks, Steve had made the call.

It was the way Steve had said, _“I found him,”_ the desperate, agonized hope, that had Tony replying with, “Bring him home,” without any hesitation.

But now, now he was hesitating like fuck.

All Steve had said was that Bucky knew who he was, wasn’t fighting back, and didn’t want to hurt anyone. But, also, that he was pretty messed up from what he’d been through. Fair enough. Having your body and mind ripped apart and put back together could really mess with a guy - Tony should know.

He was going to trust Steve on this one, though. If Steve’s glasses were tinted pink by his history with the guy, well, that was a conversation they would have to have, but, at least to start with, he’d give Steve, and Bucky, the benefit of the doubt and see how it shook out.

He tried to shake out the sheet as well, but it was too large and awkward and in the end he rolled it into a ball and shoved it into the hall closet. He wasn’t even sure if it was worth getting this place ready. Steve hadn’t known if Bucky was going to want to stay alone, or with Steve - if he even wanted to be at the Tower at all.

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out.

Cap: _Twenty minutes._

There was something unpleasantly nervous about Steve texting him an ETA. Like they should be steeling themselves in some way, but for what?

He yanked out his headphones and called out, “They’ll be here in twenty minutes,” to the bickering super spies. They didn’t reply - probably too busy having a bleach fight or something - so Tony took one last turn around the apartment. It was blank and bare, but functional. Couch, kitchen, bed, bathroom - if those two didn’t manage to blow it up - TV. There was food in the fridge and sheets on the bed. If Barnes wanted space, he could have it here.

It was actually twenty-four minutes until JARVIS announced their arrival, not that Tony was watching the clock or anything.

“Hey, J? Is this a bad idea?” he asked, hovering in the common living room, not sure if he should be trying to be cool and casual when they arrived or not.

“I have no way of knowing that, Sir.”

Helpful.

The elevator dinged down the hall and Tony tensed. He heard their voices, low and rumbly, but couldn’t make out what they said. Steve must have used his magical Tony-sense because a moment later the two walked through the doorway into the common room.

Barnes was not what Tony expected. He’d seen pictures of him, but from before and during the war. This man was not the same.

His dark hair was long and fell around his face. He was wearing about fourteen layers, but Tony could see the broad chest and tensed muscles hidden underneath. His jaw was peppered with haphazard stubble and it shifted as he worked his teeth together nervously.

His eyes were dark and intense, yes, but not with the aggression Tony expected to see there, with fear. He looked ready to bolt, checking the exits and hiding places compulsively. Tony watched his gaze dart around the room and held his own pose carefully, leaning against the back of the couch, trying to think non-threatening thoughts.

He had expected to be meeting a tiger let free of its cage, what he didn’t expect was that the tiger would want to go back in.

Steve shifted a little between them, drawing Barnes further into the room. “Buck, this is Tony Stark, Howard’s son.” He shot Tony a little apologetic glance, but Tony shook it off and held a hand out towards Barnes.

“Hi. Welcome.” Bucky’s gaze settled on Tony and he stepped forward, shaking Tony’s hand with his flesh one. Tony was dying to get a look at the other one, but he kept it tucked against his side. All Tony knew was that it was metal and “incredible” as Steve had said on the phone.

Bucky’s eyes flicked to Steve’s, clearly waiting for a cue. It made Tony breathe out a silent sigh of relief. As long as he was willing to turn to Steve when he wasn’t sure, everything would be okay. He knew it wouldn’t be easy - you don’t come out of what Barnes had been through unscathed mentally - but he’d been picturing Steve dragging back a broken and brainwashed Bucky somewhat against his will. Unsure was safer. Unsure was coaxing out, not holding back. Unsure he could do.

“We made up an apartment for you, if you want. The Lysol Twins are probably still up there trying to figure out how to clean a toilet.” Steve raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. “Or you can stay with Steve.”

Bucky looked to Steve again. “This place is fucking huge.”

Tony couldn’t help it, he cracked up. Of course those would be the first words Barnes spoke to him. Steve chuckled too and Tony clapped a hand to his shoulder. “Steve thinks it’s ugly.”

Bucky scoffed. “Well, Stevie has good taste.”

“Great, just what I need. Another super-soldier crushing my ego.”

Steve shifted again, staying perfectly situated between them. Tony wondered if he realized what he was doing, or if it was natural. Forming a bridge, drawing Bucky in towards Tony, not picking sides, not defensive, just… open. “Tony, your ego could do with some crushing once in a while.”

“Whatever.” He dropped his hand from Steve’s shoulder and leaned back against the couch. The ghost of something one could almost call a smile floated around the edge of Barnes’ mouth.

“Which apartment?” Steve asked.

“The other one on your floor.” Tony gestured vaguely and Steve turned back towards Bucky, leading him away.

“We’ll go have a look.” He turned back, meeting Tony’s eyes. “Thank you, Tony.”

Tony nodded.

So that was Bucky Barnes.

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky raised each silver finger one by one, then tapped them down on the desk - _tick tick tick tick_. There were things they used to make him do - diagnostics - but that was the only one he could remember.

Up, up, up, up. _Tick, tick, tick, tick._

There would be electrodes on his face and Allen keys stuck in his arm when they did it. Here he was alone.

Up, up, up -

The fourth finger wouldn’t move. He wrenched himself away from the desk and made a fist. That still worked. That would always work.

He held both hands out in front of him, palms down. He didn’t hate the metal one - he didn’t - it just sometimes… disobeyed. Like being forced to write with his right hand, back in grade school, when his left had wanted to hold the pencil. Sometimes now it felt oddly the other way. He’d reach for something with his left and think - _I should use my real arm for that._

Not that it made sense. It just...was. Stevie kept trying to tell him his feelings were okay no matter what they were, even if they were confusing or contradictory, but Bucky wasn’t sure if that was helpful, or more confusing. He’d been living here for three weeks now and he didn’t really feel any more settled. He wanted to feel normal, whatever the fuck that was.

“Acting up again?” The voice behind him was soft and close and out of fucking nowhere, and it was only years of training that allowed Bucky to keep from jumping.

“It's fine,” he all but growled, twisting to face Steve.

“Buck, if the arm is bothering you, you should have it looked at.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, then demonstrated one finger on his prosthetic hand that was still working. Steve rolled his eyes, then held his hands up, and moved towards the kitchen instead.

Bucky slumped back into the seat he had vacated and watched Steve open the fridge and rummage around inside. He was sweaty from a run, the back of his thin, cotton t-shirt clinging to his skin. It was amazing that he could run now, breathe even, and be okay. It was beautiful. Like seeing a bird set free from its cage - this was what Steve was always meant to be. As strong in body as he was in mind.

Bucky ticked his fingers back down on the desk, one by one - _tick, tick, tick, tick_ \- not even realizing they were the fingers of his flesh hand.

“I think you should spend some time with Tony,” Steve supplied out of nowhere.

“What?”

“He’s always in his workshop, you should go down, chat with him.”

“I said the arm is fine, Stevie.”

Steve’s cheeks coloured the tiniest amount. Bucky would be forever grateful that was one thing the serum hadn’t changed. “I know. Not for the arm, just for - I think you guys could be friends. He, uh, he kinda reminded me of you. That’s why I became friends with him in the first place.”

Bucky stared.

“Buck, you need to talk to someone who isn’t me. And if it’s not a friend, it’s going to be a therapist.” He was using his Captain America Voice. It was a good voice.

Bucky shuffled in his chair. _Tick, tick, tick, tick._ “I don’t want to bother him,” he muttered. The truth was, he _was_ interested in getting to know Tony. It was bizarre that Steve was still hanging around a Stark after all these years, but Tony looked and acted nothing like his father. He built cool stuff, Bucky knew that, and he wore sunglasses inside, and Steve said he had a sharp wit. He did seem like someone Bucky would like.

He was definitely someone Steve liked.

He took a breath and watched the hem of Steve’s t-shirt ride up over his hip bone as he knocked back a glass of water.

“You won’t. He loves company. I hang out down there all the time. Go.”

Bucky grumbled, but stood, smacking his metal palm affectionately against Steve’s shoulder as he walked out.

And now he _had_ to go down to see Stark, because Steve would ask him and if he hadn’t, it was off to therapy with him. He was a grown-ass man, he could say no, but he knew he wouldn’t say no, not to Steve. This would be easier to say yes to than talking to a stranger from SHIELD medical.

He took the stairs, trying to burn off some restless energy on the way down to the workshop. Before the doors even came into view, he could feel the pounding baseline of Tony’s music through the floor, vibrating up into his chest.

When he shoved on the door handle, however, the music immediately cut out. Tony looked like a mad scientist. He was wearing goggles that pushed his hair up into wild spikes. His arms were black from each fingertip to halfway up his forearms and he was holding a welding torch. The arc reactor glowed blue through the fabric of his wife beater - also covered in the mysterious black substance. His ratty jeans slipped low over his hips.

He was still singing along, even though the music had stopped, moving the flame from the torch carefully along a twisted piece of metal that lay out on his worktop. Bucky hovered uncomfortably by the door. When Tony reached the end of the seam he stopped singing, switched the flame off and turned towards Bucky. He pushed his goggles up onto his forehead, making his hair even crazier.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Sergeant Barnes. Thought it would be Captain Geriatric. He’s always hanging around down here as if I like the company or something.” He wiped his hand across his nose, leaving a long streak of black.

“Sorry,” Bucky huffed out. “I can go. I was just… bored.”

“I’m kidding. Come on in. I’m working on something you might like, actually. Wanna see?” He radiated energy, bouncing around on the balls of his feet, and tossing his tools to the side

Stark’s enthusiasm was instantly contagious and Bucky shot him a tentative smile and nodded. Tony grinned back, but when Bucky didn’t move he rolled his eyes and marched across the workshop. He ignored Bucky’s glare as he wrapped his grubby hand around his forearm and started dragging him across the room. When they reached a table in the corner, Tony released him and sure enough there was a perfect, black handprint on his shirt.

“Dammit, Stark.”

Tony winked at him, then pointed to the table. There was what looked like a very high-tech and very empty glass jar sitting on it.

Bucky looked at the jar. He looked at Tony. Tony smirked. “Yeah, okay, watch this.”

Tony pulled open a drawer, leaving little black fingerprints everywhere. From inside the jar he pulled out a box of crackers. Bucky raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Tony slipped on a latex glove then broke the cracker in several pieces and put them in the top of the jar. They didn’t fall all the way to the bottom until he sealed the lid again and pressed a button on top. The pieces fell to the bottom.

Nothing happened.

“You’ve invented a high-tech, probably very expensive, cracker jar?” Bucky asked.

“Shut up,” Tony replied, without heat. “Maybe instead of being a smartass, you could watch the incredibly cool thing happen.”

Bucky leaned in until his face was nearly pressed against the glass of the jar and watched. Nothing continued to happen - and then. There was movement. It was slight, but it was there, almost like the cracker pieces were vibrating. It took a long, long time, but the pieces seemed to be moving closer and closer together, until they touched. Bucky watched, fascinated now, as the edges met, the vibration frequency matched, and the pieces started the meld together again. After nearly twenty minutes the cracker was whole.

Bucky didn’t realize his jaw had dropped open until he had to snap it shut.

“How -?”

“Nanobots.” Tony snapped the glove off. “They can’t do much yet, but they’re getting pretty good at weaving certain substances back together. Maybe someday, even human bits.”

Bucky’s eyes shifted up to Tony, but he was staring adoringly at the jar. Maybe he wasn’t pulling a Steve and hinting around the arm - he’d actually never mentioned it once - but Bucky knew he was desperate to play with it. Steve had warned him.

He looked back at the jar and the perfect, whole cracker. Still, someone who could do that… that would be the kind of someone who could fix his arm.

Tony rubbed his fists over his eyes leaving a raccoon mask of black streaks around them. He grinned at Bucky then snapped his goggles back in place and wandered over to the welding project. Bucky sat down on the couch and watched him.

Steve might have been right.

 

 

* * *

 

Steve clutched his pencil, rolled it between his fingers, but didn’t press it to the page. He flicked his eyes up without moving his head - for probably the hundredth time in the past hour - and watched the two men across the room.

Tony was teaching Bucky how to work some complicated holoscreen program and there was a lot of frustrated hand waving and more than a few swear words. That seemed to be how they interacted, though. They both sniped and griped and bitched, but you had to be blind not see how fond of each other they had become over the last couple months.

It was like a switch had flipped in Bucky, once he started spending time with Tony. He stopped hiding in Steve’s apartment, he started working out again - running with Steve in the morning and even swimming in the tower’s pool. He was reading, and maybe even writing - he wouldn’t let Steve see - and interacting with all the tower’s occupants on a regular basis. Though, as far as Steve knew, he still hadn’t let anyone touch his arm.

Steve watched as Bucky leaned forward and the metal brushed against Tony’s shoulder. Okay, so he’d clearly let Tony _touch_ it, but he hadn’t asked him to look at the arm and see if he could fix it. Steve still saw it acting up now and again. Bucky would always make a fist and scowl at it, as if it was betraying him when it refused to grip a jar lid, or turn a key properly.

Bucky said something and Tony cracked up, staggering away from the desk to clutch his sides. Steve shifted his pencil on the paper, just doodling, but it scratched out the curves of Tony’s smile and he scribbled it out quickly.

Steve put his pencil back to the paper, with purpose this time, and began sketching out the shape of his best friend’s shoulders.

Bucky yelled something about “-out to get him,” and shoved Tony hard with his metal arm. Tony tripped backwards several feet, laughing hard enough that his eyes were wet. Bucky made several gestures which Steve assumed were accompanied by the demand that Tony stay where he was and let Bucky figure the holoscreen out himself. Steve knew the look well enough; Bucky’d given the same look to him hundreds of times.

Sure enough, Tony held out both palms placatingly and hopped up on the hood of the car behind him. Bucky turned back to the screen. Tony watched Bucky, and Steve watched Tony. He was smiling - all the way up to his eyes - still caught in the mirth of their playful conversation. And then it morphed, away from humour and into admiration. Tony watched Bucky’s hands move over the screen Steve couldn’t see, and his whole body bled pride and pleasure.

Steve looked back down at his sketchbook. He’d finished Bucky’s back and added Tony in beside him. Bucky turning to glare, Tony laughing, head thrown back, hands clutched around his ribs. The little cartoon made him smile. He ran his finger lightly over the tiny Tony’s hair, smudging it a bit, then snapped his sketchbook shut. He hauled himself off the couch and wandered across the room to join them for the rest of the evening.

A few days later, Bucky asked Steve if he’d like to go to Brooklyn, walk around their old stomping grounds, maybe get a hot dog. Steve tried not to beam too much, thrilled that Bucky wanted to go out.

It was midweek so the quieter back streets were mostly empty of people and they wandered about in companionable silence for several blocks. Then Bucky started to talk about his friends at the tower - mostly Tony, but Clint, Nat and Bruce as well - books he’d read, places he’d still like to go. Steve could barely hide his relieved pleasure at Bucky building a life here, but once their food was done and they’d stretched out onto a bench in a private corner of the park, he realized there was something Bucky never talked about.

“Buck, do you… do you ‘meet people’ ever?” he tried.

Bucky shot him an incredulous look. “What in god’s name are you talking about?”

“You know, like people outside of our group. Go on a date, or, you know, anything.”

“Stevie, are you asking me if I’m getting any?”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, I guess I am. I just don’t want you to be lonely. It’s pretty easy to get a date these days. If that’s what you want.” He added, “Internet,” as if that explained everything.

Bucky was quiet for a while. “I don’t think that’s what I want.” He paused again, but Steve could tell he was thinking so he didn’t say anything. “Is that what you do?”

“Once in a while,” Steve replied lightly. It was four times actually. Twice with a thin, dark-haired man who was close, but still different enough from what he actually wanted that he had to delete his number. The third date was with a woman who recognized him, so he politely ended it after dessert. The latest was a few months ago with a curvy blonde who had asked over appetizers if she could tie him up. That had been fun.

It was more a time-killer than anything. At first, he thought it would help him… adjust, but in the end, it had been a bit of fun that faded almost as soon as it was over.

Bucky though, Bucky needed touch, though he’d never admit it. He was always the one resting a hand on Steve’s shoulder or pulling him in for a hug when they were kids. It was nice to see he let Tony lean into his space, or Natasha tuck her toes under his thigh when they shared a couch, but it wasn’t the same. Bucky needed _connection_ and Steve didn’t know how to help him with that.

“I’m just saying, if you’re lonely, let me know. I can try to help.”

“You do too much for me already,” Bucky chastised lightly and Steve smiled. God, how he loved being the one who could help Bucky now. The man had stood up for him, stood behind him, literally saved his life, there was no way he could repay those debts, but he was sure going to try.

“Tony then. Ask Tony. He knows the modern dating scene. He’ll have good advice.”

“Really?” Bucky asked. And there was more embedded in that word than Steve could read. Bucky was giving him a curious look from under the brim of his hat, sharp, penetrating.

Steve shrugged. Bucky saw more than he let on, he knew that. But he didn’t want it to colour Bucky’s interactions with Tony, especially with the beginnings of what Steve had been seeing in Tony’s eyes lately when he laughed with Bucky. “Whatever you want, Buck.”

Back at the tower they found Tony installed on Steve’s couch, watching TV and muttering to himself about inaccuracies. It was one of his favourite pastimes. If he didn’t know enough about the specialist topics on a show he wanted to watch, he’d spend a day studying them, just so he could judge. By Steve’s count, he now had detailed knowledge of criminal profiling, close-up card magic, aeronautics, corn farming, and wallpaper hanging for no reason other than being judgemental.

Steve still hadn’t figured out why he had to do it on _his_ couch.

And yet, he and Bucky collapsed on either side of him, tucking up, the small couch barely allowing more than two inches of space between them, especially with Tony’s gift for _sprawl,_ and watched House while Tony complained about implausible drug interactions.


	2. Chapter 2

“We could help each other out,” Tony suggested, breaking the silence.

“What?” Bucky asked, staring at him. Which was fair. Their conversation had lulled about ten minutes ago and they’d both been working in silence since - Bucky doing something mysterious on the tablet Tony had given him while Tony pushed the nanobots further to see how they would do with a crushed butterscotch candy.

But Tony had been thinking. Thinking about what Bucky had said a little while ago about there being no chance he could find a date, with him being who he was. Thinking about his hair and his jawline and how nice it would be to feel that metal hand anywhere near him. Thinking about _things._

And when Tony thought about things, usually at least part of it would tumble out of his mouth at some point.

“What, ‘what?’” We’re both single, horny, and hot. I’m into dudes, you’re into dudes. We both have about three hundred reasons why we can’t just hook up on tindr like all the cool kids are doing.” He resisted the urge to tap his fingers against the pane of glass in his chest. “We could have some fun.”

Bucky stared some more.

“Or not. You don’t have to.” Tony shrugged. “I didn’t mean to upset your delicate, Victorian sensibilities.”

“I’m not - “ Bucky stared at him, his eyes narrowing. “I’m not upset, I’m just -”

“What?”

“Okay.”

“‘You’re not upset, you’re just okay’? What is that supposed to mean?”

“No - You idiot. I mean _okay.”_ Bucky rose from his stool and crossed the room to stand in front of Tony. His gaze drifted from Tony’s eyes, down his cheek, to land on his mouth.

“Oh! Ok. Fuck yeah, awesome. Come here.”

Tony hooked his hand around Bucky’s jaw and pulled him in, bringing their lips together, and the second they touched he realized he’d fucked up royally. His skin sizzled where Bucky touched it, his nerves alight with electricity. When Bucky reached up and curled his hand around Tony’s side he choked back a groan.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. This wasn’t a bit of fun, after all, he was so totally gone for Bucky it was beyond okay. His damaged heart went wild in his chest, sending hot blood screaming around his body in overdrive. He hadn’t noticed, how had he not noticed? He _was a genius for fucks sake._

Bucky tugged him in, crushing their bodies together and he squeaked. Next thing he’d be swooning or something, his head already felt light enough to float right off his shoulders.

Well. There was no going back now and even if he’d been able to logic up some reason why he should, his hands and his mouth and his dick were on autopilot at this point and there would be no stopping them.

Tony threw himself into it wholeheartedly. Feelings could be dissected later, when he didn’t have two metal fingers sliding their way up his spine, _holy shit._

He may have said that last part out loud because Bucky chuckled. Tony wrapped his arms around his neck and glued their mouths back together, smacking the chuckle straight into a groan. His hands pawed and groped everything they could reach, muscle, metal, hair.

Bucky half lifted him off his feet and staggered backwards until they tumbled onto the couch, Bucky on his back, Tony stretched out on top of him. Tony’s hips ground down of their own accord and they moaned in unison as their cocks rubbed together.

Tony broke the kiss, pulling back a bit and Bucky buried his face into his neck, nipping his way up under his ear.

“Oh yeah, okay, fuck foreplay.”

“Fuck _me_ ,” Bucky retorted and Tony laughed.

“As much as I’d love to, I think we’re more at a ‘frantic handjob’ level at the moment.”

Bucky thought about it for a moment. “Might be right.”

Tony knew neither of them had been touched by anything sexier than a loofah in quite some time so he didn’t suspect this would last long. He half rolled off Bucky so they could each fumble with their flies.

When Bucky reached for Tony with the metal hand, he had to suck in a sharp breath. “Are you really left-handed, or have you just got me all figured out?”

Bucky smirked and wrapped the smooth metal around Tony’s cock. Tony groaned, throbbed, leaked over Bucky’s hand. “I dunno,” Bucky replied. “They wouldn’t let me write with my left when I was a kid, but pretty sure I was. I use either now. Both. Whatever. They’re the same.”

“Ambidextrous,” Tony breathed out, finding his brain enough to push Bucky's boxers aside and take him in hand.

“Are you giving me an English lesson, or jacking me off?” Bucky growled back, squeezing his hand and making Tony squeak.

As it turned out, Tony could do both.

Words pretty much always poured out of his mouth, and the more you shut down his brain, the wilder and less coherent the words became. He stuttered out something about the very interesting history of left-handedness and shifted his body so they could feel their knuckles sliding up and down, match their rhythms.

It was fast and messy, neither having the energy to find each other’s mouths again, neither able to do more than breathe into the other’s shoulder and pant out a moan with every twist of a wrist or kick-up in speed.

Bucky’s hand around his cock felt amazing, the grip like a normal hand, but the texture, all smooth metal. It was still Bucky though; it twitched tighter when Tony ran his palm over the head of Bucky’s cock, or dragged his teeth along the skin of his shoulder.

That familiar tension started to build low in Tony’s gut and he couldn’t help but push his hips forward, fuck into Bucky’s grip. Bucky sped up in response, urged Tony to do the same. His lips were still moving, words tumbling out, but he didn’t know which.

Bucky tipped his head back against the armrest and arched his back, biting his lip and squeezing his eyes shut. “Fuck, Tony, fuck, I’m so close.”

And he was so, so close too and he might have been saying it, or he might have been describing the history of the word “dextrous,” or how a car engine worked, he didn’t know. All he knew was he was ready to go, ready to let go, and then Bucky was coming under him, spilling hot over his hand, grunting, and pushing up into his palm, and that was it. He snapped his mouth shut, pressed his face into Bucky’s chest and panted through his orgasm, feeling Bucky’s now slick hand gradually slow.

After they’d recovered their breath, Tony half sat up, his legs thrown over Bucky’s and let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

Bucky nodded, then laughed. He wiped his hand off on his boxers then zipped himself back up. He gave Tony a cheeky look, then reached out and ran the pointer finger of his left arm over Tony’s nose. “You like it, don’t you?”

“I fucking love it,” Tony admitted, unashamed, running his palm along the arm’s surface for the first time. “It’s incredible. Engineer’s wet dream.”

Bucky dropped it to Tony’s shoulder and squeezed a little, then frowned. He pulled it back and made a fist.

“What’s wrong?”

Bucky shrugged. “It acts up sometimes, doesn’t -”

“Acts up?!” Tony smacked his hand against Bucky’s chest. “Dude. You had that thing on my dick, what do you mean ‘acts up’?”

Bucky smirked, chuckled. “Don’t worry, it’s the opposite problem. I wouldn’t risk your dick, Stark. It loses grip, doesn’t do what I ask it to.”

Tony took a breath. It was a lot, in one day, to kiss Bucky, realize he’d already messed up the “don’t catch feelings for your fuck buddy” rule before they’d even started, make him come,  _ and _ ask him to let him touch the arm. But he was pretty sure Bucky trusted him by now, at least somewhat, so hopefully he’d see the offer for what it was.

“I’d be happy to have a look. Anytime. If you want. I might be able to help.”

Bucky stilled, eyes fixed on his shiny, silver fist. He said nothing for a long time. Didn’t move. And then he nodded, short and sharp.

The next day he walked in the workshop, pulled his shirt off and laid the arm out in front of Tony. Tony made no comment on his silent request, merely switched on a light, rolled over a rack of fine tools and set to work.

The design was masterful, the approach, unbelievably elegant. Tony was instantly sucked in. It was easy to reverse engineer, but at the same time, some of the solutions were made in ways Tony would never have thought of himself. He thought he couldn’t possibly love it more than he already did, but every piece he slid aside, every wire he followed to its origin, doubled it. After several minutes of internal squealing, he slid his eyes up the dissected arm to the person connected to it.

Bucky was sitting stiff-backed and tense, his jaw working in a way Tony hadn’t seen since his first day here. His flesh hand was clenched to the edge of the table so hard his knuckles were white, and Tony wouldn’t have been surprised to see indents if he’d ever let go. His eyes were half-closed and fixed on some far away point across the room.

Without really thinking about it Tony leaned over the table and pressed a gentle kiss to Bucky’s jaw. The other man started, his eyes flying open and reeled back, rattling the three screwdrivers Tony had left embedded in his arm’s innards. He looked at Tony, wide-eyed, shocked out of whatever horrible place his mind had gone to.

“You can relax. It won’t hurt,” Tony said gently.

Bucky looked down at the arm, then back up at Tony. “It won’t? It alwa- Are you sure?”

Well, that was a story Tony didn’t want to hear, and one Bucky clearly didn’t want to tell, so he just said, “I promise,” and kissed Bucky again, on the lips this time.

“Okay,” Bucky breathed out, leaning into it when Tony pulled away. Bucky opened his mouth to say something else, then stilled and turned, somehow sensing it as Steve pushed open the door and entered the workshop. Steve’s face lit up when his eyes settled on the place where Bucky was dismantled under Tony’s hands, and Bucky matched his grin.

Tony said nothing, biting his lip and turning back to his work.

Because the way Bucky looked up when Steve entered a room was something Tony was never going to be able to touch.

 

 

* * *

 

The sex continued on for several weeks after that, much to Bucky’s pleasure. Stark was good in bed, he knew what he liked and he didn’t mind asking for it, which in turn made Bucky more comfortable saying what he wanted.

He felt a bit weird about Steve, but he was also sure that his best friend knew what they got up to and didn’t seem bothered. Steve still hung out with both of them, together and apart, and never seemed uncomfortable or upset, as far as Bucky could tell.

Being with Tony was easy and safe. Bucky never felt like he had to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. Tony liked the arm - not so much that it was creepy, but enough that Bucky never felt self-conscious about reaching out to touch him with either hand. They both had scars they didn’t mention.

They still hung out in the lab, did all the things they did before, but a couple times a week they’d get each other off as well. It was mostly during the day, in a dark corner of the workshop, or up on Tony’s balcony, sometimes on his couch.

They didn’t talk about it, but three times Bucky staggered into Tony’s bedroom in the middle of the night, sweaty, heart pounding, and fell into his arms, rocking and rolling until he found release.

Once, Tony had done the same.

A month after they started, Tony texted Bucky to meet him up on the balcony. He was half-hard almost immediately, assuming that clothes-shucking was in his future. When he stepped out into the wind and sun, however, he could tell something was up. Tony was watching him with unusual intensity and Bucky could almost see the long queue of words building up behind his teeth. He gave him a little “go ahead” gesture and Tony launched right in.

“Look, I know this is just casual and I don't want to, you know.” Tony paused. Bucky did not, in fact, know, but he waited, silent, because if you let Stark ramble on long enough he usually got around to the point eventually. Tony eyed him for a moment then went on. “I felt like it was weird doing this and you not knowing that at some point, embarrassingly early on, I made the unfortunate mistake of falling in love with you.

“We can stop, obviously, I mean, of course we _can_ stop, but I'll understand if you want to stop. I'm not, like, proposing to you. I know you're totally gone for Miss America, which is fine. I knew that going in. I just had to tell you. Cause how awkward would it be if I busted that out with your mouth around my cock, or something. I do like to talk in bed. And, well, always.”

Tony ran out of breath, rocked back on his heels, and Bucky _broke_.

He doubled over, holding his sides - it was just too ridiculous. Tony stuttered forward, then apparently realized Bucky was laughing not dying and stopped, crossing his arms. “Hey.”

“I’m not - “ Bucky managed to choke out between peels, but he couldn’t draw enough breath for more words so he reached out and wrapped his hand around Tony’s forearm, drawing him close enough that he could lean on him while he howled. Tony reacted well to touch, he knew he’d wait it out if Bucky held him here.

When it finally abated, he looked at Tony’s epic pout, almost lost it again, but managed to pull it together. “I’m not laughing at you, Tony. It’s, well, Stevie’s had this massive crush on you for ages. Since long before I showed up. He hasn’t told anyone but it’s painfully obvious if you know him as well as I do. I just - “ Bucky almost broke again “- I can’t believe it. How fucking messed up are we?”

“Holy shit.” Tony seemed to be pondering that. “That. Is insane.”

“You didn’t know?”

“I had no idea. He never. He doesn’t.”

“I know, he’s an idiot.”

“Huh.” Tony stared at him for a while, gears audibly clicking in his head. Eventually, he seemed to come to and gave himself a little shake. “Anyway. I wanted you to know. I have to run an errand with Pepper, a work thing, but I’ll be back later. Should I come find you?” He sounded uncharacteristically uncertain.

“Yeah,” Bucky replied automatically, giving his arm a squeeze.

“Okay.” Tony reached up and ruffled his long hair - something he’d taken to doing recently which annoyed Bucky to no end - and floated off towards the elevators.

The elevator doors slid shut and the wind whipped around Bucky’s face, taking his good humour with it. It suddenly, horrifically, wasn’t funny anymore. Tony had fallen in love with him. How was that okay? How could he do that to Steve?

The sex was supposed to just be some fun and it _was_ fun. Tony hadn’t pressed for more, seemed fine with it. They had both fucking _suggested_ it, Steve pushing him to have casual sex and then Tony offering it. But somehow it had become this other, bigger, thing and Tony wanted more, or maybe he didn’t, but he _felt_ more and Bucky felt _bad_ because all he could feel was how much he wanted Steve.

And then he’d gone and revealed Steve’s feelings, which was the ultimate asshole move. He knew Steve didn’t want Tony to know, it was obvious, as obvious as his feelings, and he’d gone and fucked that up too. So now his friendship with Tony was fucked, probably with Steve too, when he found out. Then Tony and Steve would be weird around each other and it was all his fault.

He should have said no when Tony had brought it up in the first place. Why hadn’t he just said no?

And now… now it was complicated. If he said stop now, what would Tony do? What if he blamed Steve? Steve and Tony were so close, maybe even better friends than him and Stevie, after all these years they’d been apart, they were still finding each other again. But if he ruined that, it would break his heart.

And he didn’t want to stop. It was nice to forget about all the shit he had going on and take pleasure in touch for a while. Fuck, why did he always have to fuck everything up?

Maybe he could make it… fade away. He could pull back a bit, not right away, but over time start to suggest it’s not needed anymore and drift back into friendship without benefits. He would do anything to save his friendship with Tony, and Tony’s with Steve.

Tony showed up several hours later, pushing into Bucky’s apartment halfway through a sentence already. “- but I told them I couldn’t because that’s fucking insane, and I don’t even - “

He babbled on, pouring himself a drink and mostly ignoring Bucky except to point at him occasionally to emphasize something. Bucky tuned the content out completely, used to Tony’s rambles and still too caught in his own tortuous thoughts to process it anyway.

Tony leaned against the kitchen counter, his stream of conscious temporarily cut-off by the glass against his lips. He tipped his head back, throat working as he knocked back half of the amber liquid, and something snapped in Bucky.

He was feeling wild and a little desperate, like maybe if he got his hands on Tony this wouldn’t be so confusing anymore. So he vaulted the back of the couch and covered Tony’s body with his own, pinning him to the counter.

Tony jumped, sloshing his drink, then raised an eyebrow and set it aside. Bucky grabbed a handful of his hair and pressed their mouths together. Bucky sucked on his tongue and lips, licking at the burning alcohol he found there. He ground up against him, his mind finally going gloriously blank as Tony ran sharp nails under his shirt, over his nipples.

“Whoa, cowboy, a dude’s gotta breathe.” Tony pulled out of the kiss, sucking in air. Bucky just dipped to worry at his neck, his hands going frantic against Tony’s sides. If he could get it back to the way it was when they first started - just a hurried handjob, the only goal to get off - maybe he wouldn’t feel so crazy, maybe his mind would stop screaming _it should be Steve here._

He tugged Tony’s pants open with the metal hand - Tony liked the metal hand - and tried to push his boxers out of the way. His flesh hand gripped Tony’s hip hard, too hard, and he flinched.

“Hey,” Tony pulled back and smacked his chest gently - a warning.

Bucky relaxed his grip somewhat, but his mind wouldn’t slow and he pressed forward, grinding his erection against Tony’s thigh, bending him backwards over the counter. Tony, pressed back against the onslaught, hands fisted in Bucky’s shirt. Bucky made it into Tony’s boxers and took him in hand.

He stroked him hard, rough and uncoordinated, and sought out his own pleasure rutting up against Tony’s leg. Tony was talking again and Bucky wasn’t listening. Tony’s hands pulled at his shirt then pushed. Bucky was an unmovable wall. It took him too long to realize Tony wasn’t doing his normal aroused babble - he was saying Bucky’s name

“Hey!” Tony finally shoved, hard this time, and Bucky took a few steps back. “What the fuck, dude?”

“What?” Bucky aimed for nonchalance, missed it by about three miles, and hit whiny pout instead.

Tony eyed him up for a moment, then pushed away from the counter. “Look, if you can’t handle it, fine. I came clean, it’s not weird for me, but it’s clearly weird for you. You don’t have to be an asshole, though. Just tell me you don’t want to do this anymore, I’m a grown up, I can take it.”

Bucky tried to tell him that he didn’t want to stop and he couldn't go on, but it wouldn’t come. No words would come. He flexed his metal hand against his thigh and Tony sighed.

“Fine. Whatever.” He fixed his clothes, smoothed down his hair and walked out.

 

 

* * *

 

Something was wrong between Tony and Bucky and it was driving Steve crazy. They went from spending the better part of most days together, to barely ships passing in the night. Bucky had appeared back in Steve’s apartment and wouldn’t leave, and Tony’s music didn’t automatically switch off when Steve entered the workshop.

Bucky still spent a lot of time at the pool but hadn’t joined Steve for a run in days, and he had dark circles under his eyes that said he wasn’t sleeping.

Steve tried tackling Bucky first, pressing for an explanation, but he blew him off every time. It felt oddly underhanded to go to Tony to find out what was wrong with his friend, but then again, Tony was his friend too, his first friend in the 21st century, and he deserved Steve’s attention just as much.

The only thing that made him hesitate was that this was a _delicate_ matter and Stark was anything but delicate. Steve didn’t really want the unpleasant details. He just wanted his two best friends happy again.

He also wanted the surly super-soldier off his couch.

Steve waded his way into a crushing tsunami of AC/DC, resisting the urge to clap his hands over his ears. Tony had the sledgehammer out - not a good sign.

It took several shouted requests before Tony did a subtle gesture and JARVIS finally turned down the music.

“Thank you.”

Tony swung the hammer and something metal and plaster made a horrible noise under its attack.

“Are you okay?” Steve cut to the chase.

“Fine.” Tony swung again.

“Bucky’s not.” Steve hopped up on one of the empty work tables and watched Tony’s shoulder work to lift the weight of the tool. “I know you guys were, um, seeing each other.” He willed the blush out of his cheeks. “I guess things went badly? He won’t tell me what’s going on but he’s pouting on my couch and you’re… hammering… so I know it’s not anything good.”

Tony chuckled coolly and tossed the sledgehammer aside. He pulled off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes. The arc reactor glowed through the thin fabric of his white t-shirt and Steve itched to draw it. Though he was sure he’d never be able to capture the blue just right. “I told him I was in love with him.”

Steve spluttered for a moment. “You _did?”_

It hurt more than he thought it would. He’d known the feelings were there, watched them bloom from a couch across the room, but to hear Tony say it out loud still rammed a knife into his heart.

“We weren’t -. I mean, he doesn’t feel that way about me, it was just fun. Until it wasn’t. Yeah, it felt weird not to say something.”

“Well, uh, I guess it would be. What did he say?”

Tony turned to face Steve, a somewhat frightening smile breaking across his face. “He said... It was fine. He didn’t want to stop. But then he very clearly did. He wasn’t… comfortable anymore.”

“Oh, shit, Tony, I’m sorry.”

Tony shrugged. “I’m not pissed about that. I’ve been in unrequited love before, I had no expectations. He was just kind of a dick about it. And now he’s avoiding me.”

“And there’s no way you’re avoiding him?” Steve raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Ha, hell no. Of course I’m avoiding the fuck out him.”

Steve couldn’t help it, he laughed. “Maybe if you talked to him?”

Tony lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe sweat off his brow. Steve carefully regulated his breathing. “It’s not my move. I told him the truth, what more can I do? I’ve got nothing to apologize for. If this freaks him out, well what am I supposed to say? Sorry I love you? I can’t make it go away.”

Steve nodded, sighing. It was fair enough.

Tony fiddled with his screen in silence for a while and Steve waited, thinking, trying to come up with a way to fix this that didn’t involve shaking Bucky until he conceded and gave Tony a chance.

“I blame this on you, by the way,” Tony supplied out of nowhere, derailing Steve’s train of thought.

“What? I didn’t do anything!”

“Yes, you did! You, you… _primed me.”_

That sounded awful. Steve curled his lip. “What on earth does that mean?”

“You talked about him all the time! You were all - “ Tony adopted a high-pitched, whiny tone of voice “- ‘ohemgee Tony I have this friend you’re totally gonna love, he’s all surly and has great biceps and is a real life cyborg. He’s a little brainwashed at the moment, but once I find him and bring him home you’re gonna love him! He’s the bestest!’”

Steve choked out a laugh. “I don’t sound like that, and I said nothing of the sort.”

“Whatever, it might have been slightly different, I tend to hear the summary, if not the actual words. That was the overall impression. And as usual, you had to go and be all right.” Tony moved to stand in front of Steve, so close his hip was almost pressing against Steve’s knee, and he had to bite his lip and keep his eyes up on Tony’s face, to prevent saying something stupid.

Or reaching out and covering the centre of Tony’s chest with his hand.

“Sorry?” Steve tried and Tony smiled.

“Yeah.” He was staring at Steve now, searching, but Steve wasn’t sure what for. He was caught in those brown eyes, though, and couldn’t break away. “Yeah,” Tony repeated, then turned and moved away, giving Steve space to breathe again.

He hadn’t really talked about Bucky that much, had he?

He couldn’t even describe the feeling he’d had when he found out Bucky was alive. And sure, he’d talked him up, he’d been afraid Tony wouldn’t want a potentially dangerous man living in his home. So, maybe he’d overcompensated a bit, talked Bucky up too much.

It hadn’t felt like it, though. It felt the same as how he always talked about Bucky. Because Bucky _was_ amazing, and he _had_ thought Tony would love him. Why wouldn’t he? And he’d been right. So.

It was broken now, though, and he had no idea how to fix it.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony finally - for once - did this right, and he still felt like someone had run over his heart with a concrete mixer.

He’d been honest and open and really fucking adult, thank you very much, and Bucky had noped out like Clint finding a spider in his shoe. It was embarrassing, frustrating, and wholly unfair. And now, not only was he down a very lovely fuckbuddy, but he’d lost half of his set of best friends.

Well, not quite half his best friends, he still had the bots, after all. He tossed a tennis ball across the room and DUM-E completely failed to catch it. He sighed.

At least Steve didn’t seem to hold it against him. If anything he was more frustrated with Bucky than Tony was.

Tony knew Steve had tried to talk some sense into Bucky, but the idiot was being his usual stubborn self. Tony considered going up and talking to Bucky himself, but what he’d told Steve had been the truth - there wasn’t much Tony could say. He couldn’t take it back, he couldn’t unlove him. If Bucky was uncomfortable with the way he felt, that was that.

And he’d clearly been uncomfortable.

It was the first time Tony had really felt his strength. The way Bucky pinned him against the counter had gone from hot to a little scary really fast. He rubbed his hand idly across his lower back. He still had a slight bruise from where the granite had dug in. He honestly didn’t think Bucky knew how hard he’d been pushing, and Tony should have stopped Bucky the second he kissed him like that. He knew something was off, he’d felt it, and he hadn’t said no.

He wondered how differently it might have gone, if he’d stopped Bucky sooner. If he hadn’t come to him so soon after his confession. Maybe if he’d told him they _had_ to stop sleeping together. But he wanted his cake and to suck it off too, so he’d tried and it had all gone horribly wrong. And now he was pissed and alone.

DUM-E wheeled to a stop in front of him, the ball clutched in his claw. “Thanks, buddy.” He threw it again, but Steve opened the door, right as the ball bounced off it, and he flinched back. “Whoops, sorry.”

“Are you playing fetch with DUM-E?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘fetch’ because he’s awful at it.”

Steve chuckled and made his way over to his favourite seat, sketchbook in hand. Steve had been spending a lot of time in the workshop over the last few unhappy days. It was a lot like before Bucky had arrived at the tower, but there was something missing and he could tell they were both feeling it. He missed Bucky. Steve was great, and he’d kind of missed seeing him when Bucky monopolized so much of his time, but Bucky was different and Tony felt weird not having his energy around as well.

Where Steve was calming and quiet, Bucky was witty and loud. They’d bicker and argue and shove each other around and then fall asleep in front of the TV. Steve was more of a curl up on the balcony friend. He’d pull Tony up out of the workshop when he’d been down too long, make him food, make him sleep. Steve was the person he told about his nightmares, who he confided in when being Iron Man terrified him to his core.

Now that he had a taste of what having both was like, he couldn’t go back. He found himself looking up from his work to make a snide remark and only finding the side of Steve’s head, buried in his sketchbook, instead of a cocked eyebrow from Bucky.

Also, if he was being totally honest with himself, the blue balls were _brutal._

Tony threw himself into his work, particularly on the nanobots. And if that wasn’t some lovely self-flagellation, he didn’t know what was. They were the first thing he’d ever talked about with Bucky and a project they’d spent a lot of time pouring over together. Beyond that, they might be able to help Tony build a new way to attach the arm, one that was less painful.

Bucky didn’t show it much, but Tony knew the arm was hard on him. Sometimes he felt guilty for liking it so much, though Bucky never seemed to mind his fascination. He’d done what he could to improve it with what he had, but there was more he could do, if he could just get this working. And when it wouldn’t work, all it did was remind him how fucked up things were with Bucky and that made it all worse.

He shoved his nanobot jar aside in frustration and glared at the tiny idiots. Meat weaving was not going well and it was an important technique to master if they were going to move on to healing delicate human flesh.

“Bots not behaving?” Steve called out from his seat nearby.

Steve had been there when Tony had first come up with the plans for nanobots. He’d told Tony he was amazing. Now that he knew how Steve felt, it coloured it a bit differently, but surprisingly it was not as uncomfortable as he thought it would be. Instead of feeling like a sharp shock, finding out Steve was into him was more like _oh, that explains a lot._

This new understanding of Steve had settled warm and comfortable in his stomach. It was satisfying something in Tony, making him feel a bit chest-puffed and possessive. Steve liked to tease Tony, telling him he was his favourite engineer, or favorite genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, or favourite Iron Man. But this was as if Steve had told Tony he was his favourite everything, and Tony certainly had no problem with that.

He felt like he should mention that he knew about Steve’s feelings, but there was a reason Steve hadn’t brought it up and he wanted to respect that. If Steve wanted him to know some day, he’d tell him himself.

“They’re struggling with animal tissue,” he grumbled.

“Wanna talk it out?” Steve offered and Tony grinned. It was something they hadn’t done in a while. He’d explain his work to Steve, Steve would ask questions. Usually incredibly stupid ones, but all the same, trying to describe what he was going for, approaching things from a Steve point of view instead of his usual one often helped.

“Yeah.” He gestured Steve over and he pulled his chair up close. Tony threw some plans up on the holoscreen and started to describe his goals, his plans, his issues.

And as Tony spoke, he watched. Watched Steve’s face, fixed on the screen, the way he leaned in towards Tony’s space, his little nods.

Of course Tony had fallen for Bucky. Steve had been the one who pushed him there, and there was no one in the world he trusted as much as he trusted Steve.

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky felt as crappy as only someone who got exactly what they wanted could feel. He had tried to push Tony away and it worked: Tony was gone. No texts, no visits, no rambling on whether Bucky was listening or not.

He knew his arm was fine, but it felt glitched-out and jerky, spasming when he asked it to be still. It was like a pet whining at an ex’s scent, wondering when they’re coming home. It was pathetic.

He wondered what the nanobots were rebuilding now.

He shoved himself into one corner of Steve’s couch and tried to focus on the book he was reading, but he couldn’t. He felt angry and a little sick and mostly frustrated because he wasn’t sure which part of this fucked up mess he should have done differently.

When he thought about saying no to Tony in the first place, he thought about all the moans and gasps and scrabbling hands he would have missed out on. When he thought about ignoring Tony’s feelings and going on as if nothing had changed, he thought about Steve.

Steve, wanting Tony and not having him, while Bucky had him and wanted Steve. It was so fucked; he couldn’t help the passing thought that he wouldn’t put it past this being some highly unpleasant magic spell. That kind of stuff existed, it seemed. If he hated the three of them, this would be how he’d enact his revenge.

And if that wasn’t the worst kind of pity-party, he didn’t know what was. This wasn’t anyone’s fault but their own - maybe his alone. He couldn’t let his own stupidity and discomfort with talking about feelings ruin what they had. It was entirely backwards that finding out Tony loved him had potentially broken three friendships, when someone loving you was supposed to be a _good_ thing.

It was a good thing.

Wasn’t it?

Tony loved him. He set his book down and processed that for a moment. He’d been so obsessed with their dynamic, and Steve, and what Tony might want that he hadn’t even thought about what it meant. Tony loved him.

It was nice…

Warm, safe. Tony made him feel safe, too. Like he could be himself, no matter what. If he needed to be quiet, Tony left him alone, or filled the space with his own voice. If he needed contact, Tony would sit on his feet or lean against his side; he seemed able to tell somehow, what Bucky needed.

Bucky closed his eyes and leaned his cheek against the soft cushions. Tony loved him. It wasn’t scary, or horrible, and it wasn’t a slight against Steve. He couldn’t control Tony’s feelings, but he sure as fuck could control his own actions.

“Man up, Buck,” he murmured to himself, then stood and left the apartment.

The workshop was eerily quiet when he pushed open the door, Tony’s music uncharacteristically silent. Bucky glanced at his watch, but it was only 7pm. At first, he thought the workshop was empty, but there was a glow from the desk in the far corner. He walked around Tony’s collection of mysterious projects and found their owner.

He was face down on his desk, a massive collection of holo screens open in front of him. His hair was wild, eyes shut, and mouth slack. His breathing was deep and even. Bucky had seen Tony sleep before, but never quite so peacefully. He had a wrench dangling loosely from one hand and Bucky smiled, picturing him waving it at the screen and commanding JARVIS around.

He hopped up on the desk opposite and watched him for a while. Tony lost some of his blustery confidence in sleep, some of his insecurity leaking in somehow. Bucky felt an intense urge to cover him with a blanket, but resisted.

He didn’t resist the urge to run his hand through Tony’s hair, though, then panicked, wondering if maybe that wasn’t allowed anymore.

When Tony’s eyes fluttered open and landed on him, however, he smiled. “Hey,” he murmured, mushy from sleep.

“Hey.”

“Come to push me around some more?” Tony asked, straightening up and rubbing his face.

Bucky tensed, but Tony’s voice was light and a small smile flickered across his face. “No. Sorry,” Bucky muttered.

Tony’s eyes drifted down to where his hands were clasped in his lap.

“It wasn’t you,” Bucky started, then took a deep breath, continued, “which is also probably awful. But I wasn’t thinking about you, or me. It wasn’t your feelings, I don’t mind that. I mean, it’s nice, actually. All I could think about was Steve.

“I know he knows, but this somehow felt like a betrayal, where the fun didn’t. Like I was stealing something he should have. I know it’s not fair, or logical, but it’s all I could think about. I _am_ sorry, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I panicked a bit.”

Tony pondered this in silence for a while, then he shrugged. “I get it. I do. I guess apology accepted or whatever.” He shrugged again, then frowned. “You know this was almost as hard on him as it was on us. He doesn’t like to see us unhappy.”

“I know. I’ll talk to him too. He’s pissed at me. I guess you explained to him what happened?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry I left out your little confession on his behalf.” Tony raised an eyebrow at him and Bucky ducked his chin. More ways he’d screwed up.

Tony gave him an appraising look. “You really have it bad for him, don’t you?”

“Oooh yeah.” Bucky leaned back on his hands, braced against the table.

“Have you ever told him?”

Bucky shook his head. “Nah, back when I realized it, it wasn’t something you could do. The topic had never come up so I didn’t know how he felt about it. I didn’t want to risk it. Guess I was a coward - still am.”

“You should tell him now.”

“Why? He doesn’t feel that way about me, he never has. It would make everything more confusing. I was actually going to say - “ He cut himself off.

“What?”

“Well, that you two should -” He made a vague gesture.

Tony cracked up. “I was going to say you two should, but I’ll be honest I was with Steve yesterday and I was thinking about his perfect, you know.” This time, Bucky did know. “And I laughed at myself thinking the three of us are just going to play ring around the rosey until we all fall - Huh.“

His face suddenly morphed from amused to manic genius.

“What?” Bucky asked, brows knitting together. That look rarely ended in anything good.

“I have a brilliant idea.”

 

* * *

 

 

Steve pushed his way into his apartment, surprised to find the couch Bucky-free. He didn’t know if he should be pleased or concerned by that. Most likely he was down in the gym, angsting his way around the pool.

Steve dumped his shopping bag on the counter; there was nothing cold in it, he could put it away later. He was too worried about Tony and Bucky to have much energy for anything else. He toed his shoes off and padded to his bedroom, looking for his tablet.

His tablet wasn’t in the bedroom, but something else was.

“Tony?”

Tony was sitting on the bed, one hand braced behind him, the other at his mouth where he was chewing his knuckle. Steve registered a small bag tossed on his bedside table, but his attention was focused on Tony. He looked nervous and that was making Steve nervous.

“What’s wrong?”

Tony dropped his knuckle from between his teeth and cocked his head. “Nothing’s wrong. I wanted to tell you that Bucky and I made up.”

He was still exuding anxiety. Steve braced himself for whatever was to follow. Maybe they were going to get serious after all? But why would Tony be nervous to tell him? Unless he knew…

“That’s good,” Steve said, carefully even.

“Yeah, all good on that front. He was being an idiot - big surprise. Maybe the biggest surprise is that I’m not the one fucking everything up for once.”

“You don’t fuck things up, Tony.”

“Sure I do. But not this time. This time, I’m the one with my head on straight.” He pushed up off the bed and stood in front of Steve. He had a familiar, analytical look in his eyes and his stare was boring into Steve. “Well, not very straight, obviously, with the whole dudes thing, but at least I wasn’t storming off to be all lonely and surly because something good happened.”

He moved a bit closer and Steve leaned back, swallowing hard. “You’re babbling.”

“No, I’m not, I’m monologuing, there’s a difference. See it has come to my attention that I wasn’t the only one harbouring feelings.” He advanced again and Steve’s heart skipped a beat. “You could have said something, I don’t know why you felt like you had to hide it. Bucky says you like to ‘emotionally martyr’ yourself.”

“What?” Steve’s voice was breathy now. Tony was almost touching him. Why was he confronting him about this now? His heart raced. “‘Emotionally martyr’? I don’t - “

“What you ‘don’t,’ is _have to,”_ Tony almost whispered. “So we had this genius idea and I’m here to present it to you and see what you think.”

Steve could feel Tony’s breath against his chin, _why was he standing so close?_ “What’s your idea?”

Tony leaned forward and kissed him.

It was gentle and chaste, a light press of lips to lips, and it was over almost immediately, but there was something coiled and anticipatory behind it that had Steve’s whole body winding tight.

“What are you doing?” Steve breathed out.

“I’m showing you the genius idea.” Tony stayed close, shifting back only a few scant inches. Steve could move away, but he was utterly caught in Tony’s orbit. He smelled like WD40 and shampoo and ozone and it was making Steve dizzy.

“What about Bucky?” He couldn’t pull his eyes away from Tony’s tempting mouth.

Tony put a steadying hand on Steve’s wrist and leaned back a little further, letting Steve suck in a clear breath. “Bucky… is on speed dial,” he declared cryptically.

“What?”

“Well, what you maybe don’t know is that Bionic Barbie has been in love with you for so long I don’t think he even remembers what it’s like to not love you. You think his reveal to me was big? Get a load of that. He’s completely lost without you. And eighty percent of his issues with having casual sex with me had nothing to do with my feelings for him and everything to do with you.”

Steve was trying to understand what Tony was saying but it wouldn’t make sense, wouldn’t fall into a pattern that he could see. “Bucky’s in love with - with me?”

“Yup.”

“And you’re here kissing me.”

“Yup.”

“I don’t - “ Steve choked out again.

“Look, maybe I wasn’t the best person to explain this since, while I talk almost incessantly, I rarely say anything of value. But basically the nub of it all is that Bucky wants you, you want me, and I want Bucky. And as luck would have it, I want you too. And Bucky assures me he wants me, and I’m going to take the hickies on my ass as proof positive of that. So the only question here is: do you want Bucky? And if you do, I have a sullen sniper on speed dial who I could invite up here to join us.”

Steve swallowed. “And if I don’t?”

Tony shrugged. “We’ll sort something out. But you don’t have to overthink this Steve, and a no doesn’t have to be a no forever, if you need time. Flip side - this can just be _right now._ If you want Bucky, and me, right now, well, we’ll go from there. It’s up to you.”

Steve ran a hand through his hair and turned away from Tony, giving his mind some space. He’d never considered it. He’d never even really acknowledged that he liked men until he met Tony and by then Bucky was firmly in the friend camp, and after, someone he had to take care of. But that had changed, Bucky didn’t need him like that anymore.

He thought back to watching him with Tony, sketching them together. He’d always thought he’d only been envious of what Bucky got from Tony, the looks and smiles he wanted for himself. But maybe it was more than that.

“Call him,” tumbled out before he could hold it back. Still not a hundred percent sure what he was asking for, but knowing he needed to see Bucky.

Tony nodded and called out, “Let him know, J.” Then he stepped forward again. His eyes held a question and Steve couldn’t help but answer it. He needed to taste him again. He grabbed Tony a little roughly and pulled him flush against his chest. Tony sunk into the sensation and found Steve’s mouth easily with his own.

A noise behind them made them pull apart. Steve turned to see Bucky standing in the doorway, half hidden behind the frame, like he was ready to bolt at any moment. His eyes were wide and his cheeks had the lightest dusting of pink across them.

“Wow. That’s hotter than I expected it to be,” he said, voice husky.

Steve looked at him, hovering there, and felt somewhat awestruck. Here was Bucky - his Bucky - and it was like he was seeing him for the first time. He gave Tony’s hand a squeeze as he pulled away towards Bucky, and Tony drifted back, giving them some space.

“Bucky, Tony says you’re in love with me.” Steve’s voice was steady, careful.

“Yeah, since like 1927 or something.” His eyes dropped to the carpet.

“Oh.” He had things to say, to make clear to Bucky, but he needed to take a moment to let that fully sink in. It was one thing for Tony to tell him that, but to hear Bucky say it… “Buck -”

He cut off, not sure how to phrase what was next.

Bucky shifted even further behind the doorframe, his brow scrunched, his eyes darting to Tony. “Look, maybe I should just leave you two together for a while. I mean, I don’t want to make it a crowd. You were having fun. I’m not being - it’s okay.”

Tony made a pained noise behind him and Steve found his voice. “Bucky. Wait.” He stopped inching towards the exit. “Come here. Please? I want to talk to you.”

Bucky worked his lip between his teeth, but came into the room with a sigh, eyes still flicking over to Tony now and again. Steve reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer. “Remember when I was at Auburndale and I took you to the Met that one time?”

Bucky crossed his arms. “Yeah, of course I remember that, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to actually passing out from boredom. And I’ve been a sniper.”

Steve smacked him. “You loved it. Anyway, remember you asked me why I kept coming back over and over to look at the same damn paintings, and I told you my favourite thing about art?”

Bucky’s eyes finally stilled, settled on Steve, suddenly warm, hopeful. “Yeah,” he breathed out.

“I said my favourite thing about art was that you could look at the same painting, or drawing, or sculpture, every day for a thousand days and on the thousand and first day you could see something in it you’d never seen before.”

Bucky took a shaky breath and Steve reached out for him, he stumbled forward, fell into Steve, and Steve wrapped one arm around his waist and kissed him.

Bucky relaxed against Steve’s chest, giving in to whatever Steve had to offer, and Steve knew now there was nothing he didn’t want to offer. He pulled him close, pressing them bodily together, and kissed him 90 years worth.

He lifted his other hand, moving it towards Bucky’s hip, but something caught it first. Tony’s hand. Tony wove his fingers between Steve’s, not pulling, not drawing himself into the moment, just grounding himself to it. Steve squeezed, keeping him there.

This must be what getting everything you never knew you wanted felt like.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now.... the naughtiness begins! Yay!

Tony thought seeing them kiss would be bittersweet - beautiful but tinged with inevitable jealousy - but it was just sweet. Bucky was so different in Steve’s arms from the way he was with Tony. He was soft and pliant, letting Steve tip him back, push the kiss deeper. He was gripping Steve’s hip with his good hand, his metal one floating nervously behind him.

Steve’s fingers were tight and sure around Tony’s. Tony couldn’t tear his eyes away from the two of them, all coiled strength and a century of trust built between them. But he also knew things Steve didn’t, and he could see the spaces between them that were Tony-shaped. He knew Bucky liked his lower lip sucked, wanted a thigh to grind against, purred when you fisted your hands in his hair.

He didn’t know what Steve wanted though, but he was desperate to learn.

Bucky broke the kiss, leaning back a little to gaze at Steve in wonder. Steve smiled, then turned to face Tony. He looked a little uncertain, so Tony used Steve’s grip on his hand to pull himself to his feet. He curled up against their sides, sliding an arm around each of their waists.

“So, Cap, I know what Bucky’s into. What do you like?” he whispered.  

Steve swallowed, his eyes skating across Tony’s face, over to Bucky, then back down to Tony’s neck. Tony tipped his chin up invitingly and Steve dove in. Tony met Bucky’s eyes while Steve’s teeth slid along the neckline of his shirt, sending jolts of arousal coursing through him.

Bucky smirked and Tony could only imagine what his face looked like. A neckful of one super-soldier and a handful of another. He squeezed that hand, currently on Bucky’s ass, and was rewarded with a squeak. He smirked back.

When Steve made a frustrated little noise at his lack of access, Tony pushed him back far enough to pull off his own shirt. He couldn’t help but feel pleased when Steve’s eyes raked over him and he sighed. Tony looked back at Bucky and he was also eyeing him with appreciation, in a different, entirely wonderful, way.

Steve shrugged out of his own shirt, not giving anyone any time to appreciate the view before he set back to work worshipping every inch of Tony’s neck and shoulders. His skin was already humming, alive with the need for touch when Bucky wrapped his hand around the back of Tony’s neck and leaned in to kiss him.

Steve’s touch was new and tentative and exploratory and Bucky’s was solid and familiar and warm.

He heard the clink of a belt buckle and a rush of fabric, a hand scrabbled at his own clothes - Bucky’s hand - and his pants hit the floor. A line of spine-melting heat up his left side let him know that Steve was also nearly naked. Bucky’s rough denim remained on his left.

Steve suddenly stopped his relentless assault on Tony’s skin. He gasped into Tony’s shoulder and the hand that was still threaded through his clenched almost painfully. Steve’s weight shifted against Tony and he staggered from it, bracing himself, but breaking his embrace with Bucky. He looked up and Bucky smirked down at him, then looked away, his eyes drifting somewhere behind Steve.

“I have some ideas of what Stevie would like.” Bucky was grinning now and Steve was limp, draped over Tony. Steve groaned and Tony bit his lip, twisting, trying to get a look. Bucky’s metal hand disappeared behind Steve, tucked between his legs. Tony could feel Steve’s hard cock against his hip, so he knew that wasn’t what Bucky was currently teasing

_“Fuck,”_ he breathed out and Steve shivered against him. “Steve you wanna get fucked?” He dropped his right hand from Bucky’s side and tipped Steve’s face up towards him.

“Yes, please,” Steve gasped out and Bucky and Tony both laughed.

Tony tipped him gently back against Bucky’s chest, while Bucky continued to make him blush and squirm. Tony stepped back, reaching behind him to fumble in the bag he’d tossed on Steve’s bedside table. He found the lube and tossed it to Bucky who caught it one-handed.

Tony took a moment to enjoy the view. He finally had a naked Steve before him, hints of Bucky’s broad, beautiful chest peeking out from behind him. His eyes were closed, head tipped back on Bucky’s shoulder, a splash of pink across his cheeks.

Steve was all gorgeous smoothness where Bucky was rough and hard. Tony resisted the urge to drop a hand to his own cock, knowing he wouldn’t be able to stop once he started. For now, he had other plans.

He let Bucky play with Steve for a while longer, enjoying the show. When Bucky popped the top on the lube bottle then returned his slick fingers to Steve’s ass, Steve moaned and his knees buckled a little. Tony jumped back into action, taking Steve’s hands and pulling him across the room until his hands were braced on the wall on either side of Tony. He felt more than saw Bucky crowd up behind.

Steve’s eyes opened and fixed on Tony. Tony pulled him in, pressing their lips together, swallowing his moans and gasps as Bucky worked him open. Steve pulled back and let out a little, _“ungh,”_ and Tony met Bucky’s eyes over his shoulder.

Bucky leaned forward, flicked his tongue across Tony’s lips as if searching for Steve’s taste there, then shoved off his own clothes. As he moved behind Steve, Tony slid down, taking his time to sample every tantalizing part of Steve that called to him as he descended.

When Steve shuddered and cried out Bucky’s name, Tony settled on his knees and sucked the head of Steve’s cock in his mouth. It was hard and eager and already tangy with precum. He could feel the still-gentle rock of Steve’s body as Bucky worked his way in.

Tony slid down, reveling in the hot weight of Steve’s cock on his tongue. Bucky’s rhythm increased as they both relaxed into it and he started fucking into Steve in earnest. Every thrust pushed Steve deeper into Tony’s mouth. He wrapped his hand around the base of Steve’s cock and worked him alternating with the press of Bucky’s hips.

Steve whimpered and begged. Tony flicked his eyes up and Steve’s were locked on him, wide, hypnotized. Bucky kicked up the pace and Steve cried out. His wrists gave way and he jerked forward onto his elbows. Tony’s back was pressed against the wall and he had to work not to let his head bang unpleasantly against the plaster.

In the end, he gave up on setting a rhythm of his own, braced the back of his head against the wall and let Bucky fuck Steve into his throat. He relaxed and dropped his grip. Steve’s eyes were squeezed closed now, his mouth open. Tony let his hands wander, wrapping one around to settle on Bucky’s hip.

The other slid between Steve’s legs to tease his balls, then to explore Bucky’s cock sliding in and out of Steve’s body. He teased a finger along Steve’s rim and the sensitive skin behind his balls and Steve swore. It was such a delicious sound, knowing he had pushed that out of Mr. Watch Your Language, he couldn’t help but seek it again. He teased and pressed and slid, sucking and swallowing at the same time and finally Steve couldn’t take it anymore.

Steve dropped a hand from the wall and buried it in Tony’s hair, holding him still as he bucked forward once, then cried out and came, shooting hot down Tony’s throat. Tony swallowed what he could, dribbled out what he couldn’t, focusing entirely on sucking in air through his nose and the death grip he had on Bucky’s hip, which kept him from losing his balance completely and tipping sideways onto the floor.

Bucky eased off for a moment, giving Steve a chance to pull free of Tony’s mouth, groaning as he did. Tony braced both hands on his knees, enjoying oxygen for a moment, feeling and hearing Bucky start fucking into Steve again. He could see Bucky’s fingers wrapped around Steve’s hips, holding him stable. Flesh, soft, warm, on one side, metal, hard, smooth, cool on the other. Both dug divots into Steve’s skin and Tony was entranced by the sight.

The hand in his hair tugged and he rose to his feet, caged between Steve’s miraculous biceps, pressed against the wall. Steve mumbled something Tony didn’t catch then dipped forward and starting licking his own come off Tony’s chin.

“Holy, _fuck,_ Steve,” he whined. Steve shoved his tongue in Tony’s mouth and he tasted like his come, Steve, and Tony, and Bucky too and _fuck_ it was driving Tony wild. He tipped his head inviting Steve to deepen the kiss and opened his eyes, finding Bucky’s gaze over Steve’s shoulder.

Bucky forehead was creased, his bottom lip gripped hard between his teeth. He stared back at Tony then made him jump when he jerked his metal hand from Steve’s hip to Tony’s. His pace was wild now, pounding into Steve, which pounded Steve into Tony and Tony into the wall. Tony was just hanging on for the ride now, letting Steve kiss him, or run his tongue over his lips and cheeks and chin, or just groan against him.

Bucky faltered, his eyes still fixed on Tony, then he pressed forward, flattening them all against the wall and cried out his release.

Tony watched in awe as he shuddered and panted through it; he would never tire of seeing that.

Bucky’s brain came back online and his eyes fell affectionately on Tony. He leaned forward and kissed him. Steve was still sandwiched between them, his face having fallen down onto Tony’s shoulder.

The increasingly filthy kiss from Bucky, and the hot press of Steve’s body against his own, reminded Tony that he was the only one who hadn’t come yet and he couldn't help rocking against Steve a little, sliding his needy cock against his smooth skin.

Steve and Bucky stepped back suddenly, in unison, releasing Tony from his cage against the wall. Bucky wrapped his hand around the back of Steve’s neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Thanks, Steve,” he whispered, and Tony’s heart stuttered, pleased.

Steve raised an eyebrow at that, then laughed warmly. “Think you’ve got that the wrong way round, Buck. But that was amazing.” His gaze fell to Tony who was trying not to whimper and failing as he squirmed against the wall and wished desperately that someone’s hand was on its way to his cock.

“Looks like we’ve still got something to take care of.” Bucky smirked, then held out a hand and, when Tony took it, tugged him against his chest. He spun and walked him backwards to the bed, hands roaming over every inch of Tony’s skin.

Tony’s eyes were stuck on Bucky’s gaze, pinned by the intensity of his stare. It was familiar and somehow brand new, because there was something new there. Some wall had come down and the fear, that Tony had never registered as such, was gone.

He sighed in pleasure as Bucky ran his metal hand down his spine, then gasped as he found himself shoved backwards onto the bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Tony Stark naked and stretched out in front of him was a sight Bucky was never going to get sick of. He somehow oozed swagger and confidence while, at the same time, _begging_ with every inch of his body. It was intoxicating.

Steve hovered nearby, letting Bucky arrange Tony on the centre of the bed, spread flat. Steve’s sharp eyes followed every brush of Bucky’s hand, every place that made Tony hitch in his breathing. Bucky knew he was cataloguing everything. Tony had no idea what he was in for.

Bucky climbed up on the bed on one side of Tony and tipped his head to Steve to signal him to do the same, on the other side. Bucky leaned on his right elbow, leaving his metal arm free to roam over acres of naked Tony.

Tony shivered and let his eyes close, sinking into the sheets. Bucky loved that moment when he let go and gave in. He looked over him, across the bed at Steve. Steve wasn’t looking at Bucky, his gaze was focused, laser-sharp, on Tony’s face. The awe Bucky saw there made his next breath stutter it’s way out of his lungs like it couldn’t remember the way.

He’d never seen Steve let the full force of his feelings show through, but in this moment he was an open book. What Bucky had seen as a heady crush clearly was much more. Steve’s gaze burned vibrant and electric and full of love. When Bucky sighed, Steve shifted that gaze to him instead and he watched it transform. He settled, softened, relaxed. The blaze of attraction he felt for Tony shifted into the radiating warmth of deep-seated love he had for Bucky.

It was different and perfect and even though he knew this was new for Steve, looking at him that way, it didn’t feel in any way like he’d settled.

Steve was just looking at him on the thousand and first day.

He felt an unfortunate prick behind his eyes and broke away from Steve’s eyes, turning back to Tony. “Let me show you what he likes,” he offered to Steve. Steve nodded and Bucky reached out, taking Steve’s hand and guiding it flat-palmed, over Tony’s chest. Tony purred under their attention.

He pressed their clasped palms over the arc reactor, then Bucky abandoned Steve’s hand there, to drift over to his nipple. Steve mirrored his movements on the other side, though his finger kept roaming back to circle the reactor, dance through the light, or trace the web of scars that surrounded it.

Tony remained still, but Bucky could feel the slight change in his air. He was tuned to Steve, focused on the attention, waiting. When Steve leaned forward and dragged his tongue over Tony’s chest, catching the edge of the metal casing, Tony shivered and both his hands clenched in the sheets.

Bucky leaned forward to suck a harsh bruise into Tony’s bicep, nibbling smaller bites up to his neck then returned to his nipple, teasing and nipping and sucking. One of his legs curled over Tony’s, finding Steve’s already there. Bucky was hard again, but it could wait. Still, he rocked gently against Tony’s hip, letting him feel it, showing him the effect he had.

Tony groaned and pushed his own hips up, seeking contact. Bucky finally relented, shifting down his body and taking his cock in hand.

When he followed with his mouth, letting saliva leak out of the corners of his lips and down over Tony’s length, Tony moaned and it tripped into the beginning of a stream of breathless technobabble.

Steve leaned back. “Uh, Buck,” he whispered. “Is he reciting the periodic table?”

Bucky pulled off Tony’s cock with an obscene pop. “Yeah, he does that. You get used to it. I just tune it out.”

Steve grinned. “Is it always the elements?”

“Nope. I’ve been testing a theory that different things I do lead to different science, but I think he might get pissed if I started taking notes while fucking him.”

Steve raised his eyebrows at Bucky, then ran his finger along the side of Tony’s neck.

“Actually, it was distracting at first, but now it’s uh - It’s kinda hot,” Bucky admitted.

Steve started laughing and that set Bucky off laughing too, pressing his lips together to muffle the sound, and ducking his head.

Tony’s hand floated up from the bed to weave into Steve’s hair. “If you two are quite done having a Mocking Tony Summit, maybe you could go back to getting me off.”

Bucky grinned at Steve who rolled his eyes in response, then dipped his head to kiss Tony. Bucky left them to make out and returned his attention to Tony’s cock, swirling his tongue around the head before sucking down the whole length in one smooth slide. Tony’s hips jerked up off the bed and Bucky reached out to hold him down, but Steve beat him there, spreading his fingers wide over Tony’s belly, stilling him.

Bucky shifted between Tony’s legs so he could watch Steve and Tony together while he sucked him off. Steve leaned over Tony, braced on his elbows. They kissed, deep and intense, hints of tongue peeking out when they pulled back. Tony’s hand was still buried in Steve’s hair and the other one snuck up to wrap around Steve’s bicep. Steve's mouth effectively cut off Tony's scientific rambling, but Bucky found he didn't miss it that much, not with a sight like that to enjoy instead.

Bucky’s cock throbbed against Tony’s calf and his knees twitched even further apart. Bucky took that as an invitation and slid his metal hand up Tony’s thigh. He heard him gasp out against Steve’s mouth. His fingers were still slick and when he pressed one metal fingertip to Tony’s hole, it slid in easily.

Tony was babbling again, twisting into and out of Bucky’s touch. Steve held him down, his mouth drifting back down to Tony’s chest, neck, nipples, the arc reactor and over his belly. Bucky worked him with his mouth and fingered him torturously slowly with one finger, pressing in and curling until Tony cried out. He never increased his pace but gave Tony no space for ease, and Steve never backed off either.

Bucky pushed and swallowed over and over, watching Tony prattle himself into a complete state, eyes squeezed shut and hands fisted into the sheets once again. Steve eased off a little, entranced by watching Tony fall apart, still petting, teasing, squeezing, but with his eyes glued to Tony’s face.

Bucky twisted his finger, the rest of the long line of his smooth arm pressed against the inside of Tony’s thigh and sucked him deep until the head of his cock hit the back of his throat. Tony’s eyes snapped open, locked to Steve’s face, and he tumbled over the edge. He came deep in the back of Bucky’s throat and Bucky swallowed easily, easing off and sliding his finger back as Tony floated down again.

_“ Oh my fuck,”_ Tony breathed out and Bucky chuckled. Steve looked kind of stunned, eyes still stuck on Tony’s face. Tony relaxed the hand in his hair and petted down over his neck and ear a few times then shifted his gaze to Bucky. Bucky smirked up at him from between his thighs and got a wink in return. He pressed a kiss to Tony’s hip and scrambled up to lie stretched out beside him on Tony’s empty side.

Steve finally tore his gaze away from Tony and looked at Bucky. “Wow.”

Bucky propped himself up on his elbow. He was hard again and seeing Tony and Steve wrapped around each other was bringing his own need back to the forefront. Steve’s eyes flicked south hungrily and Bucky smiled and lay on his back, hands tucked behind his head. Steve slithered over Tony, taking time to kiss him thoroughly on the way and settled on top of Bucky.

He was warm and heavy and fit just right against Bucky’s body. He was hard again too and rubbed shamelessly against Bucky’s hip.

Tony groaned when he realized what they were up to. “Oh my god, thank Science for super-soldier stamina. You two are incredible.”

Steve pressed his forehead to Bucky’s and rocked against him, slotted between his legs so all he could feel was endless Steve above and around him. He felt breathless and overwhelmed. Tony curled up close but not touching, and watched, eyes lazy and half-hooded, still loopy from his orgasm.

Bucky gripped Steve’s biceps with both hands and hung on for dear life.

* * *

 

 

Steve breathed in the familiar scent of Bucky, now tinged with the tang of sex for the first time.

“Stevie?” Bucky whispered.

“Mmm?” Steve’s hand wandered down his side. He didn’t press his lips to Bucky’s but they were close enough that he could have, holding his weight on one arm and his forehead against Bucky’s.

“What are you seeing that you hadn’t seen before?” There was a hint of insecurity there that Steve was pretty sure no one but him would be able to detect.

“You,” Steve responded. He slipped his hand between their bodies and wrapped it around both of their cocks. He started to stroke, gently, slowly, taking his time. Bucky let out a little gasp and arched up into it. “Your body, your mind, your heart, that the way I’ve felt for you has always been love, just not the way I thought. That all those moments - bloody noses in back alleys in Brooklyn, sneaking cigarettes on the fire escape, all that goddamn mud, falling asleep in a tent beside you in Italy - were all moments of falling in love with you.”

Steve’s hand moved as he talked, stroking both of them, increasing his speed. He could see Tony out of the corner of his eye, watching them, pleased, but a little distant, giving them a moment they needed.

“How could I not want you? Not need you? You’re everything to me, Bucky.” He choked on the name as heat curled low in his gut.

“Steve,” Bucky breathed out again, his grip tightening on his arms, fingers digging in. Steve was sure there would be marks left behind - though they’d fade quickly - and he liked the idea.

“Look at me,” Steve commanded and Bucky’s eyes flickered open. He wanted him to know he was here with him in this, wanted him. This wasn’t some move to get Tony. He wanted Bucky. He wanted them both. “Yeah, come for me, Buck.”

Bucky bit his lip, dug his fingers in impossibly harder and arched up into Steve’s touch. He spilled over Steve’s fist, slickening the slide of his hand and making Steve’s eyes roll back. He was so close and feeling Bucky shudder and clench under him pushed him the last of the way over and he followed him. His arm gave out and he collapsed onto Bucky’s chest, breathing heavily.

“Holy shit.” Steve looked up and Tony was staring at them, wide-eyed and awake now. “That was gorgeous.”

They all snuggled together for a while, enjoying the afterglow. Steve’s mind couldn’t still for long, though and soon he was fretting again. Tony raised an eyebrow at him from the other side of Bucky’s chest and he realized he’d started squirming.

“Sorry. I just - So what are we doing here?” He tried to make it sound light and unconcerned but it definitely came off as terrified. It wasn’t okay if this was a one time thing. He wasn’t going to be able to watch Tony and Bucky be together and only include him once in a while for some fun, and it wasn’t until now that the thought even occurred to him as a possibility.

“Well, we _were_ wallowing in post-orgasmic bliss - double bliss I can only assume, for those of us with truly impressive refractory periods, congrats on that, by the way - but now we’re wallowing in your stress, instead.”

Steve grumbled and Bucky laughed. The movement of his chest rocking Steve out of his comfortable position.

“It’s us three against the world,” Tony went on. “I mean I’m sure there are things we’ll have to figure out, but if you think there’s any chance I’m giving you guys up after that, you’re fucking crazy. I’m composing my ‘Dear Red Shoes’ letter as we speak.”

“I never have any idea what you’re talking about,” Bucky said affectionately. His hand tightened around Steve’s waist.

“So. Three. Equal?” Steve asked, not sure how to word it, but hoping at least one of them would understand.

“Yup,” Tony replied. “All three. Equal. If that’s what you want?”

“Yes.” That was exactly what he wanted. They both turned to Bucky.

“Of course.”

“Perfect. Now that that’s out of the way, wanna watch TV?”

“You just want to yell at House’s team more,” Bucky griped.

“Nope, I’m onto Project Runway now,” he said, matter-of-fact.

They were all silent for a moment, then Steve turned to Bucky. “I actually kind of want to see that happen.”

Bucky thought about it for a second. “Stark arguing with fashion, reality TV? Yeah, I’m in.”

They hauled themselves out of bed, did a rudimentary cleanup and pulled on boxers. Tony put on a shirt as well, complaining that damn super-soldiers didn’t feel the cold and he was happy to pay for additional heating. Bucky wrapped his arms around him from behind and whispered something that Steve was sure was along the lines of, “I can think of a way to keep you warm,” but Tony shoved him off, rolling his eyes.

Tony snuggled into his spot in the centre of the couch and the other two men joined him, one on either side. He turned the TV on and it wasn’t long before he was ranting passionately about one designer’s choice of fabric combinations.

Bucky pulled his feet up, leaning back against the arm and tucking his toes under Tony’s thigh. Steve watched with pleasure as Tony’s hand automatically dropped to Bucky’s ankle, thumb rubbing circles over his skin.

Steve tucked up against Tony’s side, feeling a thrill in his stomach that he was allowed to be this close, to curl into Tony’s warmth and slide a hand over his thigh. He spread his other arm over the back of the couch, along Tony’s shoulders, and Bucky reached up and threaded his fingers through Steve’s.

He had the passing thought that this wasn’t that different from how they’d always been. All that had changed was the loss of several layers of unnecessary clothing and the banishment of the two cold inches of space between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! I really hope you enjoyed this even half as much as I enjoyed writing it :D There's a wee epilogue to come next, which I'll post very soon. Thanks again for all the love! <3


	5. Epilogue

Tony turned the screwdriver one last time then sat back, eyeing his work. It looked right. The arm was seated well, the nanobots had done their job, and the arm’s new connection with Bucky’s shoulder was softer and better balanced, but only tests would tell if it worked properly.

He opened his mouth to ask Bucky to wiggle his fingers then paused, frowned. 

Bucky was stretched out long on the couch, his metal arm up propped up on a rolly table Tony had dragged over and sandwiched between his own chair and the couch. Steve sat tucked behind Bucky, one leg on either side of Bucky’s hips. He leaned back against the arm of the couch, book in one hand, Bucky’s hair in the other, scratching a slow massage into Bucky’s scalp. Bucky was limp against Steve’s chest.

Steve apparently noticed Tony’s hesitation and looked up from his reading. “Hmm?”

“He’s asleep,” Tony explained flatly. “I was doing amazing, groundbreaking science worthy of some sort of award, or at least a blow job, and he fell asleep. What’s the point of being incredible if no one watches you do it?”

“I think you’re incredible,” Steve told him, not entirely without condescension. “And I’m sure you’ll still get your blow job.”

Tony shot him a look. He ran his hands over the arm once more, making sure all the panels were closed and the tools were removed, then shoved it off the table and onto the cushion, beside Steve’s leg.

Tony stood and stretched, plucking at the oversized hoodie that clung to his back and chest. He wasn’t sure which of his two boyfriends it actually belonged to, he’d had it for so long, but it was definitely super-sized, and it smelled like both of them.

Bucky slept like the dead when he finally conked out; there was no point in trying to wake him. Tony scrambled up on the other end of the couch, stretching out on top of Bucky and hearing Steve’s little  _ umph  _ as their combined weight pressed against his chest.

Tony stretched up over Bucky’s shoulder to press a kiss to Steve’s lips, then fell back down to rest his head on Bucky’s chest, under his chin. He wrapped his arm around Bucky’s waist until he could circle Steve’s ankle with his fingers.

“You going to sleep too?” Steve asked.

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Tony yawned and snuggled deeper. The soft rise and fall of Bucky’s chest was rapidly soothing him into full dopiness.

Steve’s hand migrated from Bucky’s hair to Tony’s, combing through the wild mess. “Did the changeover go okay?”

Tony could hear the hint of nerves Steve was trying to hide. “Yeah, it’s great. I need him to test it, but there were no problems I could see.”

“What about - “

“Will you two shut up?” Bucky growled. “I couldn’t sleep last night because you were arguing about hedgehogs or some shit and then the makeup sex was obnoxiously loud.”

“Porcupines,” they both corrected in one voice.

“I cannot begin to tell you how little I care.”

Tony tipped his face up and kissed Bucky on the underside of his jaw. “I need you to test the arm. I did science.”

There was a pause long enough that Tony tensed, sensing Bucky was plotting something.

“Test it, huh?” Metal fingers lifted up from against Steve’s leg and curled around Tony’s side. They danced up his spine, then back down again, brushing along the waistband of his jeans.

“I thought you were sleeping?” Tony squeaked, arching into the touch.

Bucky rolled his hips up a little, then back, making Steve gasp. “I  _ was  _ but then you went and did science. And I hear that deserves an award.” He squeezed Tony’s side then rattled his fingers on his hipbone one at a time.  _ Tap tap tap tap.  _ “Or something.”

“Oh fuck,” Tony hissed out. He looked over Bucky’s shoulder to find Steve’s face. He was smiling, smirking even, but the heat in his cheeks betrayed the effect Bucky was having on him too.

Bucky went on, “So I need to test the arm, Stevie needs to be punished for starting that porcupine crap, and you need an  _ award. _ Perhaps we can kill three birds with one hand?”

Tony groaned as the hand in question made its way under the hem of his stolen hoodie and around towards the zipper of his pants. “Now that is a genius idea.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done!! Thank you so much for reading, I love you all. Have an amazing day ;) <3


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